Pinellas County Emergency Management is closely monitoring Hurricane Irma and advising residents to stay updated on the weather and ensure plans are in place.

According to the National Weather Service, the effect of Hurricane Irma on Tampa Bay is uncertain. Irma is moving toward the west near 14 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue today, followed by a turn toward the west-northwest tonight.

The Citizen Information Center is now open for residents until 8 p.m. Residents can call (727) 464-4333 for preparedness questions. The information line is scheduled to be open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Thursday, at this time.

To allow residents enough time to prepare, Pinellas County has activated three sandbag distribution locations for residents in unincorporated Pinellas. The sandbag sites are as follows:

John Chesnut Sr. Park, 2200 East Lake Road in Palm Harbor

Lealman Community Park, 3890 55th Ave. N. in St. Petersburg

Taylor Park, 1100 Eighth Ave. S.W. in Largo

Sandbags will be limited to 20 per person. Material and bags will be supplied. Residents must fill their own sandbags. Shovels will be available. The sandbag distribution locations will be open during daylight hours. Residents of the county’s 24 cities should check with their municipality for distribution within their area.

Residents are reminded to review and finalize preparedness plans. Some of the recommended steps residents are asked to take include:

If you have special needs, be sure your caregiver begins to implement your plan. If you have no other options, register for special needs shelters by calling Emergency Management at (727) 582-2600 or by contacting the local fire department.

When planning to evacuate, residents are advised to consider evacuating short distance (tens of miles, not hundreds of miles) to avoid the impacts of potential storm surge, significant rainfall flooding, and unsafe structures (mobile homes). Consider staying in safer structures that have window and door protection for Hurricanes.

If your plans are to evacuate out of the area, please be aware of the uncertainty of the track of Hurricane Irma and that all of Florida is presently in the threat area. When evacuating, people should safely use real time traffic apps on their smart phones, such as Florida 511, to find the best route if roads become congested.

On Monday, Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for every Florida county due to the hurricane threat. At this time, the county’s Emergency Operations Center is not activated, but officials are proactively monitoring the weather and asking residents to prepare.

The state has also suspended the refill too-soon restriction. Residents can now refill their prescriptions and are also recommended to obtain a list of their medications from their pharmacists.

With the inclusion of Pinellas County in the declaration of a state of emergency, residents are now protected by the state’s price gouging law. Residents who suspect price gouging can report it to Pinellas County Consumer Protection at (727) 464-6200 or use the Attorney General’s hotline at 1-866-9-NO-SCAM.

Residents should stay tuned for weather updates through weather alert radios, local media outlets, the county website (www.pinellascounty.org) and county social media accounts; they are also urged to sign up for Alert Pinellas at www.pinellascounty.org/alertpinellas to receive emergency notifications by phone or text message. Pinellas County will be posting storm-related and preparedness updates on social media using hashtag #PinellasIrma.